Trekking to Everest Base Camp: My Experience PART FIVE - FINAL

This is the final entry in this series.

You can find Part One of this series HERE
You can find Part Two of this series HERE
You can find Part Three of this series HERE
You can find Part Four of this series HERE

The last shot before leaving Everest Base Camp

Everest Base Camp to Kathmandu - There and Back Again

The last post left off with me and my new hiking companions leaving basecamp and heading back down to civilization. Going down is understandably much quicker than going up and we set out to get down just before 10AM after having a huge breakfast in Gorak Shep. The standard route going down is Gorak Shep to Pheriche to Namche Bazaar and the last day to Lukla before flying back to Kathmandu. We set off moving at a very fast pace down the trail heading for Pheriche and made it there in just over 4 hours, there were a few spots where we all started running and racing down the various passes. We arrived to find empty tea houses and welcoming locals, so we picked the first one and sat down for a nice meal of dal baht followed by card games into the night.

Sharing the trail with some yaks on the way down

Gabriel had a massive pack for the whole hike

The long way down to Pheriche

The Road to Namche

The next morning we rose early, had a quick breakfast and were off to Namche Bazaar, however not long after we left Christiano received word of a family emergency and started to worry. He decided he would run all the way to Lukla (35km) and book a flight for the following morning, which I thought was insane but he was a triathlon runner and was sure he would make it so we all said our goodbyes and off he went running down the trail. We hiked for a total of around seven hours before arriving in Namche and by the end my feet were sore and the three of us were starving. We quickly found a teahouse and set out to do two things; go to one of the famous bakeries and go to the Irish pub. We picked the first bakery we found and all had extremely delicious pastries before heading down to the pub. Now the thing I found interesting about this pub was that it had a full sized pool table, and the reason it was interesting is that everything in these villages must be brought up by hand or by yak as there are no roads. I can just imagine a poor yak with a 400lb pool table on his back slowly hiking up the mountain. We all enjoyed a well-earned glass of whiskey and a pint before heading back to the teahouse.

We stopped at the Worlds Highest Bakery in Tengboche

Starting to get green again!

A nice view at a teahouse where we stopped for water

Jameson and Guinness at the Irish Pub in Namche

The Last Day

The next morning we rose early for our last day of hiking and got on our way down the pass and back into the Khumbu Valley. The trail is mostly flat through the valley so we passed the time swapping travel stories and talking about all the hiking we had done. We arrived in Lukla after about 5 hours of hiking in the early afternoon and stayed at the teahouse closest to the airport, we then went and booked our tickets for the following morning to fly back to Kathmandu. After everything was booked we headed to Everest Burger to try their burger of the same name, and after eating mainly vegetarian for the previous 12 days it was fantastic. Afterwards, we headed back to the teahouse for a beer and some cards before bed, and the next day we flew back and all went off in our own separate directions.

I miss views like this

A final selfie in the Khumbu Valley

Final Thoughts

When I first arrived in Kathmandu, I was overwhelmed by the city and all the options, and despite having very little planned out, after 2 days I set out to do one of the most extraordinary things I have ever done. From getting supplies in Kathmandu to hiking for 12 days in the Himalayas, the whole ride was fantastic and life altering in every sense and I wouldn't trade it for the world. After having completed this trek I would offer a few pieces of advice to anyone who wants to tackle it:

• Don't be afraid you aren't fit enough, if you can walk 5-6 miles per day you can finish this
• Take all the pictures you want, you will likely never have this experience again
• Don't fall into some of the tourist traps in Kathmandu, if you need a guide/porter make sure they are accredited
• Have Fun! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity so enjoy all the pain and cold and talk to as many people as you can!

Thanks for Reading and check out all my other posts! @travelstheworld